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(No Model.) 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 J L. REEVES 8v J. P. MORRIS.

HAY RACK.

Patented Apr. 21, 1896.

Wh m E w (No Model.) I 2 She tsShee-t 2. J .L. R EEVES& J..F. MORRIS.

R w 9' E ANUREW B GRANAMPHOTO'UTHQWASNINGTON 0c NITED S TATES ATENT IFFIQE.

JOHN L. REEVES AND JOHN F. MORRIS, OF FORDYCE, PENNSYLVANIA; SAID MORRISASSIGNOR TO SAID REEVES.

HAY-RACK.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 558,842, dated April21, 1896.

Application filed July 25, 1896. Serial No. 557,118. (No model.)

To all whom it may concern.-

Be it known that we, JOHN L. REEVES and JOHN F. MORRIS, citizens of theUnited States, residing at Fordyce, in the county of Greene and State ofPennsylvania, have invented certain new and useful Improvements inl'lay- Racks; and we do hereby declare the following to be a full,clear, and exact description of the invention, such as will enableothers skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use thesame.

This invention relates to an improvement in hay-racks 5 and it isembodied in the structure hereinafter described, and definitely pointedout in the claims.

The invention consists, primarily, in an i1nprovement in the formationand arrangement of the constituent members of a hay-rack, whereby metalmay be employed to an advantage in the structure throughout, and,

further, to construct a hay-rack which will be a commercial articlethatis, one which may be disposed of to dealers, who can conveniently handlethe racks as articles of trade.

I'Ieretofore it has been usual and customary for farmers to have theirracks built to order, and owing to the size and weight it has not as arule been practical to put racks on the market as otherfarmingunachines, such as reapers, &c., are. It is therefore clearlyapparent that were it possible to construct a hay-rack so that it wouldmeet all the requirements and could be manufactured and shipped todealers as are farming-machines and by them sold as entireties it wouldbe an important advance in this art.

In constructing a commercial hay-rack it is first necessary to supplytherequisite strength to the structure and at the same time to have itlight and susceptible of easy handling.

The object of this invention is to form a light, strong, and durablerack, and to so fashion the same that it will overcome the commercialobjections heretofore existing.

The invention is illustrated in the accompanying drawings, wherein likeletters of reference designate corresponding parts in the several views,and in which- Figure 1 is a side elevation. end view. Fig. 3 is a topplan. crosssection.

Fig. 2 is an Fig. 4; is a In constructing the rack we employ metal forall of the parts.

A designates the longitudinal bottom sills, one on each side, extendingfrom the rear end of the rack to points slightly forward of the center.These sills are formed of angle steel and their forward ends are struckor bent up at right angles, as at B.

A designates the forward bottom sills, extending from the front of therack back a short distance, their rear ends being bent up at rightangles, as at B. The ends 13 B terminate on the same plane, preferablyintermediate between the bottom andtop planes of the rack, and areunited at their upper ends only by the connecting-bars C, which extendin opposite directions beyond the ends B B, for purposes hereinafterdescribed.

The sills A A are each united with its con1- panion sill at their outerends by the cross bars D D, preferably of angle-steel. The horizontalflanges of the anglesteel in the cross-bars and sills are below thevertical flanges and preferably extend inward. In uniting the cross-barsto the sills we employ suitable tap-bolts a, so that the parts may bereadily disconnected. Spanning the frame which constitutes the bottomare the transverse or sub sills E E E arranged, preferably,equidistantly apart. These subsills are formed of angle-steel andproject at opposite ends beyond the sills A A. They are bolted to thelongitudinal sills by removable bolts a, passing through the horizontalflanges of the sills, the horizontal flanges of the subsills being abovethe vertical flanges.

Springing vertically from the outer ends of the subsills are theuprights or pillars F F F formed of angle-steel. Located between theuprights and the longitudinal sills are the inclined braces G G G eachhaving its lower end made fast to the longitudinal sills. These bracesare carried up at an outward inclination, and their upper ends are bentor curved outwardly, as at 9, beyond the uprights, which latter aresecured to the bends g at or near the inner ends of the curved orangle-section, so that there is substantially a direct incline of thebrace from the top of the upright to the longitudinal sill.

On the outer ends of the sections 9 are secured the longitudinaltie-beams H, extending in a straight unbroken line from front to rear ofthe rack. These tie-beams are formed of angle-steel and project beyondthe plane of the sides of the sills A A. They constitute in addition totheir function as tie-beams the fender for the wheels, their positionbeing to lie above and laterally beyond the plane of the wheels. Theforward ends of the beams H and sills A are united by the uprightforwardly and laterally curved braces K, rigidly secured at oppositeends, and the ends of the beams ll are united by the crossbar it,spanning the rack and united to the beams by removable tap-bolts, sothat the bar may be readily removed. The rear ends of the beams II areunited with the rear ends of the sills A by the rearwardly and laterallyinclined braces L, while the upper ends of the beams at their rear areunited by the cross-bar Z, the union being effected by removable bolts.

The uprights F F are arranged, respectively, at the center of the rackand at a point directly in advance of the point across which the forwardbolster extends, as shown in dotted lines, Fig. 1. The braces of theseuprights are united firmly to the opposite ends, respectively, of theconnecting-bars 0. By this means the wheel-arch is formed and thestrength of the union between the forward and central parts of the rackunimpaired, as the upright sections of sills A A, in conjunction withthe braces and bars 0, constitute a well-braced and rigid connection.The bars 0 also serve to support the bottom boards 0.

The rear subsill E is located to assume a position directly behind therear bolster, as shown in dotted lines, Fig. 1, so that any for- Wardcreeping or movement of the rack will be interrupted or prevented.

By the construction above described it will be seen that an openframework rack is formed in which the fewest possible number of partsare employed.

To adapt the rack to heavy loads or loads of the usual as well asgreater weight than it is customary to place on racks we distribute thethrust or strain in opposite directions from the center to the rear andfront sub sills and braces. To accomplish this we secure to the upperand lower ends of the braces G G of the uprights, or, if desirable, tothe uprights, the truss-rods M M, the former extending obliquely down tothe base of brace G, passing through a sleeve 11 on the brace and fromthere upward to the top of brace G The latter truss M is extended fromthe bottom of brace G to the top of brace G, passing through a sleeve011 the brace and from there down to the base of brace G Each end of thetruss-rods is passed through suitable apertures and has the tap-nuts gthereon, so that the tension of the braces may be varied by manipulatingthe nuts at either end.

The frame between the end braces and braces G G is trussed by thediagonal crossed braces 0 0. By trussing the frame as described and'employing thecontinuous tiebeams the compression tendency of the frameat the center is wholly overcome by virtue of centering the load on theaxles of the wagon and against the bolters.

The truss M may be termed the drawing truss, while the truss M is thecompressionresisting truss. As the load is placed 011 the center it isevident that the strain on the central part will be resisted by thetruss M, which will tend to draw the tops of braces G and G with theiruprights toward the center. This tendency is checked by the braces o and0, through the end connecting'brace, lower sills, and tie-beams.

It will be noticed that the top of the rack has no crossv or lateralcentral connections,

and we have found that such is wholly un' necessary, inasmuch as thepeculiar location of the uprights and their inclined braces effectuallyprevent any lateral movement or spreading of the rack at the center, thebraces acting as trusses.

It will be noticed that the principal feature of the structure is itsformation of light strong material, which is preferably rolled steel,and so arranging the parts that the central portion will not sag orbreak by the load. This feature, we may state, is the essential featurewhich enables us to construct a rack which 'will be sufficiently lightand strong to enable it to behandled by the trade, and when in use toanswer as well, if not better, all of the requirements of the ordinaryracks.

It is to be understood that the construction.

maybe variously altered and modified and yet retain its feature ofpreventing the central unsupported section from collapsing or warping,by bracing it from the ends, on lines with the sides of the rack.

In shipment, each side, which constitute entireties, may be separated byremoving the cross-bars and subsills, the side frames placed together,and the parts properly crated. The assembling of the parts will bereadily effected. v

In connection with the rack we may employ the boom-supports P, which aresupported at opposite ends in slips on the crossbars. WVe have foundthat the better form is to mount a small drum Q on one of the lowercross-bars and to connect a rope g to the drum, passing the same throughsuitable block or pulley Q, and thence back to the opposite end of thecross-bar. A similar rope q is attached to the forward cross-bar andpasses through the pulley-eye.

\Vhile we have shown a practical and, by actual test, a very efficientform of rack, we wish it understood that we do not limit ourselves tothe identical form described and shown.

Having thus described our invention,what we claim as new, and desire tosecure by Letters Patent, is

1. A metallic hay-rack comprising two open side frames, cross-barsconnecting the bases of the frames, and cross-bars connecting the uppersides of the rear and forward ends of the frames, laterally-braceduprights at the sides of the frames, and means for supporting thecentral portions of the frames from points at or near the ends thereof,substantially as described.

2. A metallic hay-rack consisting of two like open metallic frames,means for detachably connecting the lower sills of the frames,

detachable cross-bars uniting the upper portions of the ends of theframes, laterallybraced uprights at the center of the frames, andsuitable means for bracing the center of the frames from the ends,substantially as described.

A metallic hayrack, comprising two open frames, forming the sides,connections between the frames, trussed uprights at the sides of theframes having their upper ends bent laterally beyond the frames, trussesextending from at or near the ends to the center of the frame, and eachframe having con tinuous tie-beams at theirtops, secured to the lateralextensions of the uprights substantially as described.

4. A metallic hay-rack consisting of open side frames, havingoverhanging continuous tie-beams at their upper edges, laterallybraceduprights supporting the beams, and a trussed connection between theopposite end portions of the frames and center, and means for unitingthe frames, substantially as described.

5. A metallic l1ay-rack consisting of open side frames, each comprisinglongitudinal sills and transverse subsills uprights on the subsills,inclined braces extending from the sills to the upper ends of theuprights, a tiebeam extending from end to end of the frame, connectionsbetween the end of the beam and sill, truss-braces between the inclinedbraces and between the braces and end connections, substantially asdescribed.

6. A metallic hay-rack consisting of two open side frames, eachcomprising sectional longitudinal sills, separated and having uprightprojections at their contiguous ends, uprights at the sides of theframes, and .a connecting-bar between two of the uprights and the upperends of the upright projections, substantially as described.

7. A metal hay-rack consisting of independent open side frames, meansfor preventing the deflection of the center of the frames, comprisingsuitable braces extending from the center to points adjacent to the end,side uprights provided with lateral truss-braces,

and cross-bars at the tops of the ends only of the frames substantiallyas described.

8. A metallic hay-rack comprising two open side frames means fordetachably securing the frames together at the bottom and ends, andbraces for preventing the vertical deflection of the center of theframes, extending from at or near the ends to the center thereof,substantially as described.

9. A metallic hay-rack consisting of two open longitudinal side frames,means for securing the bottoms and ends of the frames together, meansfor bracing the center of the frames from at or near the end, andoverhanging tie-braces on the upper portion of the frames, substantiallyas described.

10. A metallic hay-rack consisting of two independent open side frames,means for securing the bottoms and ends of the frames together, bracesfor supporting the centers of the frames from points at or near theends,

to prevent their vertical deflection, and means at or near the center ofthe frames for preventing their lateral deflection,substantially asdescribed.

In testimony whereof we affix our signatures in presence of twowitnesses.

JOHN L. REEVES. JOHN F. MORRIS. lVitnesses J. P. TOUGARDEN, S. F. GRIM.

